Jul 30, 2026, 4:09 PMI cannot possibly be the only person who doesn't trust Sam Altman. Though sometimes it feels like I am.
- Jul 30, 2026, 4:09 PM
Replies
Jul 30, 2026, 4:11 PM@quinn he's got a scammer aura. I cannot believe people fall for his bullshit...
Perrin42Perrin42@mastodon.socialJul 30, 2026, 4:12 PMI don't trust you or Sam Altman. But I trust your judgement in not trusting Sam Altman.
(Note, this is a joke and I have never been given a reason not to trust you. Sam Altman, on the other hand...)
- Jul 30, 2026, 8:19 PM
@Perrin42 damn yes! I could get up to anything.... that fits in a $50 budget 😂
bituur esztreymbituur_esztreym@pouet.chapril.orgJul 30, 2026, 4:16 PM@quinn i don't trust him either. for all he is, oozes out, represents, since one of the first time i heard of him, that is his firing/reintegration, and especially since i learned about him from his sister Annie on the dead bird site, since 2022?
Luke Kanieslkanies@hachyderm.ioJul 30, 2026, 5:10 PM@quinn wait there are people who *do* trust Sam Altman?
- Jul 30, 2026, 5:59 PM
@lkanies there's people who fucking worship him.
Dave Rahardjadrahardja@sfba.socialJul 30, 2026, 6:06 PM- Jul 30, 2026, 8:17 PM
@lkanies investors
- Luke Kanieslkanies@hachyderm.ioJul 30, 2026, 8:21 PM
@quinn I guess they trust him to make number go up. I am not sure investors let their actual feelings influence their decisions
- Jul 30, 2026, 10:08 PM
@lkanies or basic, 4th grader understanding of morality
djohngodjohngo@mastodon.socialJul 30, 2026, 5:14 PM@quinn His own board fired him but were too afraid to say exactly why. That's the most ominous thing I've ever heard of.
- Jul 30, 2026, 8:16 PM
@djohngo and then his employees brought him back, it's kind of culty.
- djohngodjohngo@mastodon.socialJul 30, 2026, 9:52 PM
@quinn A lot of those employees are going to realize generational wealth when the IPO happens, so that kind of made sense to me.
Jul 30, 2026, 5:36 PM
Jul 30, 2026, 5:44 PM@quinn There is a certain category of bullshitters who do not appear particularly smart, and then they get away with saying some mind-crumbling shit because people can't get themselves to say 'you are talking shit! The ideas you bring are obvious nonsense, and your sentences are not actually sentences'.
And if you have made it to millions and billions and people are making money subscribing to that bullshit, it is not strange if you end up buying into it yourself...- Jul 30, 2026, 8:15 PM
@mjj And then there's a humiliation of trying to back away.
Charlie Strosscstross@wandering.shopJul 30, 2026, 5:56 PM@quinn Altman graduated from the cryptocurrency school of grifters to a larger and more majestically lucrative scam, the prosperity gospel/basilisk's hell branch of AI Jesus christian syncretism. He's a televangelist-style huckster, is my take.
Doc Edward Morbius ⭕dredmorbius@toot.catJul 30, 2026, 6:59 PM@cstross OT: any relationship between that view and your several-years mostly-absence from HN by chance?
(Not to put you on the spot, but something I'd noticed a while back. And realise writing this you'd stopped by to discuss Accelerando a few months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48159241.)
- Charlie Strosscstross@wandering.shopJul 30, 2026, 7:17 PM
@dredmorbius Yes: HN is overrun by right with fascist-adjacent techbros these days, and I want nothing to do with them or their ideology.
mirabilos🐈⬛mirabilos@toot.mirbsd.orgJul 30, 2026, 7:38 PM@dredmorbius @cstross ycombinator is even listed as a cosignatory with other baddies like Microslop, Google, OpenAI and the Linux foundation in some fascist-adjacent recent thing (forgot which)
- Doc Edward Morbius ⭕dredmorbius@toot.catJul 30, 2026, 8:30 PM
@mirabilos Feel free to ping me if you run across it.
- Doc Edward Morbius ⭕dredmorbius@toot.catJul 30, 2026, 8:26 PM
@cstross I suspected.
Thanks.
- Dave Rahardjadrahardja@sfba.socialJul 30, 2026, 6:05 PM
@quinn Clammy Sammy? Untrustworthy? Nah, my millions are safe in his hands.
Phillogwyrm@infosec.exchangeJul 30, 2026, 7:49 PM@quinn Not sure where, but I read a great article on Sam Altman being a pathological liar, citing people who used to work for him like "He would tell you something and 5min later, during the same conversation, claim he never said such a thing".
- Jul 30, 2026, 10:06 PM
@logwyrm That's a sought for, valuable quality in Today's America.
Bill Bennettbillbennett@mastodon.nzJul 30, 2026, 9:31 PM@quinn We are many…
🇺🇦 Anna Filinaafilina@phpc.socialJul 30, 2026, 9:33 PM@quinn Most people in my circles also feel the same, FWIW.
Jürgen Hubertjuergen_hubert@mementomori.socialJul 31, 2026, 4:02 AMAlmost nobody trusts Sam Altman.
Even the stock speculators don't trust Sam Altman - they just believe they can cash out before it all comes crashing down.
Owen Blackerowenblacker@dataare.coolJul 31, 2026, 6:44 AM@quinn There are people who *do* trust Sam Altman?!